1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved high pressure horizontal separator for improved and more complete separation of raw produced oilfield gas, oil, and water. The emphasis of design is primarily for the removal of liquids from natural gas, and secondarily for a more efficient separation of the liquid stream into discrete layers of oil with water and water without oil.
2. Description of the Related Art
Separators for the treatment of oil are well known in the petroleum industry. Gas produced from an oil or gas well will contain oil, water, and sediment. Before the gas and crude oil can be refined, the liquids must be removed from the gas, and the gas, water, and sediment must be removed from the oil.
Separators, as their name implies, function to separate the inlet stream into oil, gas, water, and sediment components. A separator functions to remove the gas from the liquids and sediment, and the sediment and water, commonly referred to as the BS&W, from the oil.
However, several problems exist within the technology employed in current separators that makes them less efficient than desired.
One problem with some separators is that they are oriented in a vertical orientation instead of horizontally. By employing a horizontal vessel with an inlet on one end of the vessel and outlets on an opposite end of the vessel, this allows for longer residence time in the vessel and thus results in better separation.
Another problem with some separators is that they do not provide means for initially separating water from the oil and preventing re-entrainment of the water in the oil and oil in the gas. This makes those separators less efficient, sending valuable oil down the gas line with the gas stream, and valuable oil and gas down the water line with the water, wasting valuable non-renewable resources.
An additional problem with some separators is that their design is not conducive to allowing efficient removal of solids from the vessel. This can lead to silting in of the vessel to the point where separation ceases altogether so that that the vessel must be taken out of service to remove the sediment that has accumulated in the bottom, or be replaced in its entirety.
A further problem with some separators is they do not have good control of the level of the oil-water interface or the oil-gas interface, both of which can result in poor separation, particularly during high instantaneous flow (aka slug) conditions.
Another problem with some separators is that they depend on gravity alone to accomplish the separation of the components.
A further problem with some separators is they generally do not have a means for introducing the incoming fluid into the vessel in such a way that free gas is removed from the incoming stream as it enters the vessel.
Still a further problem with some separators is they introduce the inlet stream into a violent mixing chamber which keeps the fluids entrained in one another, thus reducing separation and separation efficiency.
Another problem with some separators is they do not employ vortex breakers on the exits of the unit which allows the separated fluids to re-mix, cross contaminating the otherwise discrete gas, oil, water and sediment effluent streams.
The present invention addresses these problems and provides a reliable, easily serviceable, and efficient unit for treating petroleum mixtures. This type of separator is general installed upstream of a heater treater in a process or treatment facility.